Chapter 11 - A Friendly Chat

The ship hovered slowly down the road, and Meow desperately tried to stop it from colliding with the other vehicles and hover-crafts. The planet seemed to be completely inhabited by robots, androids and other mechanical beings. The only robots that Meow had ever seen were the guards at Queen Mau's palace. But none of the robots stared at Meow as if she were out of the ordinary.
"So, we were looking for Street 3467-G, right?" Adam asked Meow from the luggage compartment of the ship.
"Yes, why?"
"Because that street over there is Street 3467-E, so we're probably getting close."
Meow slowly turned her ship in the direction that Adam was pointing. One of the vehicles behind her started beeping loudly.
"Sorry!" She called back. She could see the neon street sign with the numbers 3467-G. As she turned into the street, she gasped at the size of all the buildings. Not only were they so tall that they blocked out all natural light, but they were wide as well. As the ship hovered along, Meow looked for the building numbers. They weren't hard to find, as they were all displayed using bright neon signs.
"100-F, 100-G, 102-A, 102-B..." She murmured as she passed each building.
"There it is!" Her face fell as she saw the line of vehicles outside the building. She joined the line, but because it wasn't moving she picked up Adam by his scruff, got out of her ship, and walked over to the front of the building. She saw a female-looking robot standing against the wall, away from the line of customers.
"If you need somethin' fixed, join the line," She said to Meow without looking at her, and sighed. "But it's gonna take weeks..."
"Oh," Meow said, unsure at what to say to a robot that just sighed. She didn't know that robots could sigh. After some thought, she asked "Is it expensive?"
"A total rip-off, honey." the robot shook her head sadly. "Really, it's robbery, but it's the biggest and most advertised repair shop this side of Mecha." The robot turned to Meow. "I do feel morally conflicted working here, you know. Not as if I don't have a soul."
"Oh..." Meow tried to sound sympathetic, but she was completely taken aback hearing a robot talk about "moral conflict" and "having a soul".
"Don't see many of those type of things around here," The robot gestured to Adam. "What is it?"
Adam rolled his eyes. Meow laughed. "It's called a "cat". We have them on my planet." Then a though occurred to her. "What about people? Are there people here?"
"Oh, sure. There are a few around." the robot said. "There's a school for little people, um, children, not too fare from here. My brother works there. You know, if I could get a job like that-" Meow could tell the robot wanted to talk, but she needed to help her mother, and she didn't have "weeks" to wait for her ship to be repaired.
"Well, I should probably find another place to get my ship fixed. It was nice meeting you." Meow turned to leave.
"Aww, don't let me keep you. All that stress and worry isn't good for a little girl like you. See you 'round, hon." The robot was full of surprises.
"How did you know?" Meow asked her.
"You kiddin'? Your worry-levels are off the charts. It's gotta be somethin' big."
"It's my Mama. She's very sick." Meow could feel her face grow red and her eyes fill with tears. The robot put her steely arms around Meow.
"There there, hon. You might wanna try Ol' Mister Drill's repair shop, it's just down the street. Tiny little place, but Ol' Mister Drill's great at fixing. It's the only place I go when I got problems."
"Thanks." Adam called back to the robot, as he and Meow walked back to their ship. They got in, and Meow turned the ship to head down the street.

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